Chu Fan walked to the door and opened it.
The person outside was neither his disciple nor Jun Lin.
“Master…”
Chu Lingshuang kept her head lowered, appearing as if she didn’t dare to meet Chu Fan’s gaze.
However, Chu Fan did not acknowledge her greeting.
Instead, he left the door open and walked back into the room to continue studying his mechanical arts.
Chu Lingshuang followed him inside.
Seeing the familiar blueprints, a rare smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“Your mechanical skills are as exquisite as ever. Even after being by your side for so long, I haven’t even learned the basics.”
“Mhm.”
“Master, those three women who left with you during the grand ceremony, they are…”
“First, I am not your master. I am currently the Law Enforcement Elder of the Tianxuan Sect. You should address me as Elder Chu. As for them, they are disciples I have newly recruited over the past few years.”
“New… disciples?”
‘For some reason, even as she felt saddened, a sliver of relief rose within Chu Lingshuang.’
The atmosphere turned silent.
Chu Fan began picking up a pile of wooden parts to assemble them.
When he realized he was missing a piece and spent a long time looking for it without success, Chu Lingshuang handed the part to him.
“Master, you’re looking for this, right?”
“Mhm. Thanks.”
Chu Fan took the part and continued his assembly.
‘For some reason, despite being the one thanked, Chu Lingshuang couldn’t feel any joy at all.’
If Chu Fan had yelled at her or even struck her the moment they met again, she would have felt more at ease.
Instead, being treated like an ordinary person — like a complete stranger — felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
She couldn’t sense a single ripple of emotion from Chu Fan, as if she were nothing more than an irrelevant passerby.
Yet, she was his very first disciple, and once, his only one.
At the training field, Shen Yuying watched Chen Qianchi and Su Xiaotang fooling around with a heavy expression.
It was the same scene as any other day, so why did her heart feel so heavy?
Suddenly, her ears twitched.
She whipped her head around toward the direction of Chu Fan’s room.
“Qianchi, I have something to take care of. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yuying hurriedly departed on her flying sword.
“Ah? Oh, okay.”
“Why is Eldest Senior Sister in such a rush?”
Su Xiaotang scratched her head, looking puzzled.
“I was about to ask you the same thing. But Xiaotang, you usually can’t even get out of bed. Why were you in the mood to go buy breakfast today?”
“It wasn’t because I wanted to eat! Eldest Senior Sister said last night that she wanted to eat buns from that shop on the west side of the city. She even gave me two Linglong Pills as a delivery fee,” Su Xiaotang said, looking aggrieved.
Hearing this, Chen Qianchi’s eyes widened.
The realization hit her like a lightning bolt.
She turned toward the direction Shen Yuying had vanished, gasping with rage.
“You sly fox… playing tricks on me again… Stand right there!!!”
Chen Qianchi took a massive leap and flew off.
Su Xiaotang was left alone in the training field, scratching her head in confusion.
“Eh? What’s going on? What happened?”
“Master, is the item in these blueprints a suit of soft armor?”
“Mhm.”
Chu Lingshuang knew it wasn’t being made for her, but she remembered a time when she used to receive such gifts.
“But with your cultivation, Master, do you really need soft armor for protection?”
Chu Lingshuang didn’t know why she said that; it felt like she was trying to deceive herself.
“Whether my Master needs soft armor for protection is none of your concern. Who are you to ask?”
The voice suddenly appeared from directly behind her.
Chu Lingshuang spun around, her eyes meeting Shen Yuying’s ruby-like gaze.
Chu Lingshuang remembered her — the woman with snow-white hair and crimson eyes who had been clinging to Chu Fan’s arm during the ceremony.
At the thought of this, Chu Lingshuang refused to back down.
She furrowed her brows, her aura beginning to fluctuate as if she were ready to explode at any moment.
“Get out.”
Seeing the tension in the room reaching a boiling point, Chu Fan spoke indifferently.
“…Yes, Master.”
Shen Yuying turned to leave.
“Not you.”
Chu Fan stopped her and then looked toward Chu Lingshuang.
“Chu Lingshuang, this is an Elder’s room. It is not a place for an ordinary disciple like you.”
Chu Lingshuang’s aura instantly plummeted to freezing levels.
Her eyes trembled as she looked at Chu Fan, and her vision began to blur.
“…Ordinary… disciple…?”
“Leave.”
“…Yes… Elder Chu…”
Chu Lingshuang left the room.
Once she was gone, Chu Fan looked at Shen Yuying.
“Why did you come back?”
“Master, I didn’t mean to. I was just afraid that…”
“Forget it. It’s not important. Yuying, come here.”
“Yes.”
Chu Fan placed the blueprint in front of him, comparing it to Shen Yuying’s perfect, soul-stirring figure.
Then, he handed the blueprint to her.
“Take a look at this soft armor. What do you think?”
Shen Yuying took the blueprint, resting her chin in her hand as she studied it carefully.
She critiqued, “Mhm, one can tell at a glance that this is a spiritual treasure crafted by Master. It carries your distinct style. However, I think the waist area should be widened a bit. After all, Master, your build is quite sturdy, not this slender.”
Listening to her words, Chu Fan raised an eyebrow and stared at Shen Yuying with surprise.
Caught in his gaze, Shen Yuying’s hair practically stood on end.
Realizing what she had implied, she hurriedly tried to explain.
“That’s not it, Master! I — I haven’t peeked at you while you were bathing! And I’ve definitely never crawled into your bed in the middle of the night to do something transgressive like touching your abs or smelling your scent! Master, you have to believe me!”
“……”
Chu Fan leaned his head on his hand and sighed, feeling exhausted.
He couldn’t believe the scandalous nonsense he was hearing.
Was this hell?
“Alright, alright, Yuying.”
“Master… I…”
“I’ll discuss those things with you next time. But for now, what I want to tell you is…”
“Is…?”
Shen Yuying’s heart jumped into her throat.
Though she usually had 800 schemes running in her head, she currently wished she were deaf.
She was terrified of hearing Chu Fan’s scolding; to her, that would be a punishment more painful than having her bones crushed.
“You’ve misunderstood. This soft armor is for you.”
“Eh?” Shen Yuying’s heart settled back down.
She looked down at the blueprint again.
Only then did she notice the form-fitting design and the slender dimensions.
It was clearly meant for a woman’s body.
It wasn’t that Chu Fan’s design was flawed — with his skill, such an error was impossible.
How had she not noticed?
“For… me? But… why?”
“Qianchi’s constitution makes her invulnerable by birth. And while Xiaotang is a bit slow-witted, she is the Lord of Ten Thousand Weapons; even ordinary immortal swords can’t scratch her.”
Off in the distance, Su Xiaotang was walking.
“Achoo!”
Having sneezed for no reason, Su Xiaotang wiped her nose.
“Which bastard is badmouthing me now? Don’t let me catch you!”
“Only you, as a pure-blooded descendant of the Tushan Clan, possess unmatched talent in Qi refinement and offensive capabilities, but your defensive power is only slightly better than that of an average cultivator. You are a classic case of high attack and low defense.”
“But if I were to have you train your physical body like Qianchi, it would be a waste of your talent. It would be a drop in the bucket and more trouble than it’s worth.”
“I thought that rather than doing that, it would be better to use external tools to make up for your shortcomings. That way, you don’t have to waste your talent and can still achieve ideal defensive power.”
“Just like the weapon Yelin I made for Qianchi, which was meant to compensate for her high defense and low attack. Uh… Yuying?”
Chu Fan suddenly noticed the look in Shen Yuying’s eyes.
She had a smile on her face, looking as if she hadn’t heard a single word he said.
“Are you listening?”
“Mhm.”
Shen Yuying’s voice sounded as calm as water, yet it trembled slightly.
“I plan to start forging tomorrow. It should take about three months. During this time, stay consistent with your routine. Don’t get into arguments with others and focus on your safety. Do you understand?”
“Mhm.”
“Though it might sound like an excuse, the reason I left your defensive gear for last is because you are the most resourceful and meticulous. You’re the one I’m least worried about, so I put you last. I hope you can understand.”
“Mhm.”
Chu Fan didn’t notice that Shen Yuying was currently pinching the webbing of her right hand with her left, her body trembling slightly as if she were trying to suppress something.
“As for that question you asked, I…”
“It’s okay, Master.”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t care anymore, and I won’t ask. If Master doesn’t want to say it, then don’t.”
“Mhm. Thanks.”
Chu Fan felt relieved and began tidying up his things.
After a moment, he realized Shen Yuying was still standing there.
He sensed the atmosphere suddenly becoming strange.
“Yuying, why are you still standing there? Why haven’t you gone back to find Qianchi and the others?”
Shen Yuying didn’t answer.
Confused, Chu Fan turned his head and saw that Shen Yuying’s breathing had become heavy.
Nine pure white tails slowly emerged from behind her, expanding before all arching upward.
The sight made Chu Fan gulp.
He instinctively took two steps back.
“Yu — Yuying?”
Seeing Chu Fan retreat, Shen Yuying pressed forward step by step.
“Why… Master…?”
Shen Yuying’s voice trembled violently, filled with a turbulent wave of emotion.
“Why do you have to tell me to leave after saying such cunning things…? This is too much…”
“Wh-what do you mean? What did I say?”
Chu Fan cautiously backed away until his back hit the wall.
He had nowhere left to run.
Once Shen Yuying had cornered him within half a meter, Chu Fan realized that her tails had somehow wrapped themselves around his forearms, waist, abdomen, thighs, and neck.
Shen Yuying reached out both hands, cupping Chu Fan’s cheeks with obsession, as if she were touching a priceless treasure.
“No… this isn’t my fault… It’s all Master’s fault… Master was too much… Master said something unfair… You can’t blame me… I’m just following my Master’s orders… living by following my heart… I’m not wrong… I’m not wrong at all…”
Feeling her hot, vanilla-scented breath against his face and the slightly trembling tails around his neck, Chu Fan realized things were turning bad.
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